Burris J, Cook-Deegan R, Alberts B
Marine Biological Laboratory, Woods Hole, Massachusetts 02543, USA.
Nat Genet. 1998 Dec;20(4):333-5. doi: 10.1038/3803.
The Human Genome Project began a decade ago, its early momentum fueled by two reports. A report from the National Research Council (NRC) in February 1998 endorsed the project and provided the basis for the first joint plan by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the Department of Energy (DOE). A report from the Office of Technology Assessment (OTA) in April 1988, provided Congress with a means to assess the roles of NIH and DOE. Both reports highlighted the importance of genomics and emphasized the need for a concerted research program. The committees did not predict the large investment of private funds or the extensive patenting of sequences, and they underestimated the rate of progress. Overall, though, the consensus-building provided by the committees helped to set the blueprint for one of the great success stories in modern biology.
人类基因组计划始于十年前，其早期的发展动力来自两份报告。1998年2月，美国国家研究委员会（NRC）发布的一份报告认可了该计划，并为美国国立卫生研究院（NIH）和能源部（DOE）的首个联合计划提供了依据。1988年4月，技术评估办公室（OTA）发布的一份报告为国会提供了评估NIH和DOE作用的方法。两份报告都强调了基因组学的重要性，并强调了开展协同研究计划的必要性。委员会并未预测到私人资金的大量投入或序列的广泛专利化，而且他们低估了进展速度。不过总体而言，委员会达成的共识为现代生物学最成功的故事之一奠定了蓝图。
